Stay Strong
by Pineapple1010
Summary: Emma, Hook, and Snow search Neverland for Henry. Emma could sure use someone to trust, and Killian is beginning to look like a good possibility.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello internet! This is my first OUaT fic, so I'm not technically responsible for this fic's actions. Since its my first please leave some reviews giving tips, criticism, or whatever. If people like it, I have some more chapters in store. Anyway enjoy!**

* * *

The group reached a clearing in the forest and took a seat on a log.

"Well captain, where to now?" said Mary-Margaret.

"A bit farther west, I'd say," Hook replied, pointing to the left. "Shall we rest first?"

"Yeah, but not too long," Emma chimed in, sitting down and grabbing a granola bar.

When the six had arrived in Neverland, they had split into two groups to comb the land for Henry. Emma had opted to go with Hook - to keep an eye on him. Snow had gone along with those two, and Charming - reluctant to leave Emma with Hook - went with Gold and Regina.

Emma, Snow, and Hook had begun their search in the forest just off the shore where they arrived. After about an hour of walking, they sat down to take a break.

Killian handed Emma a bottle of water he brought along. He caught a glimpse of her face - she seemed sad. "What's wrong, love?" he asked.

"Nothing," Emma spat back without emotion.

"Well, now you don't expect me to believe that, do you?" Killian replied, leaning closer to her.

"Yes, I do," she said, still blank- faced.

Mary- Margaret, who had been observing the scene play out, had also noticed her daughters mood. Something was bothering her, but she decided not to grill her about it.

"Anyway," Killian said after a short pause, "we should keep moving."

The three grabbed their things and pressed on. After a while, Mary- Margaret unofficially took the lead, and Killian and Emma fell behind a bit.

"So, love," Killian said, making sure Mary-Margaret couldn't hear him, "what is actually bothering you?"

Emma didnt respond at first. Actually, she waited so long to reply Killian suspected she hadn't heard him.

"What if I don't find him, Hook? What then?" she said eventually.

"Your boy? Trust me, we will find the lad," he said, the slightest hint of doubt evident in his tone.

"You don't know that!" Emma shouted. She wanted desperately to let her walls down, to tell someone how she felt, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Listen, Emma," Killian said, stopping temporarily and facing Emma, "we will find him. We will find him if it kills us, okay? You just need to trust me, darling."

* * * *  
The three pressed on into the mountains, the terrain getting tougher by the minute. Since their conversation, Emma and Killian hadn't spoken again.

As they hiked through the forest, Killian had become increasingly aware that the group was being followed. By who, he didnt know, but he could guess. The lost boys. He hadn't informed his companions yet, thinking it could be his imagination.

Then he heard it three more times, the cracking twigs behind them. That was not his imagination, nor was it any animal.

He slowly increased his pace until he was right behind Emma and Mary-Margaret.

"Emma," he whispered into her ear, "I don't mean to alarm you, but I believe there is someone following us."

Emma was a bit startled by his sudden announcement, but soon recognized his serious tone. She looked over to him, waiting for some type of instruction.

Killian tilted his head in the direction from which he'd heard the noises, which had stopped now. He backed up against a tree, motioning to the others to be quiet. Emma noticed that he was gripping his sword by his side.

Killian ever-so-slowly inched his way around the tree. Then, without even glancing back, he swung his sword behind him and around the tree. There was a distinct, disturbing slicing noise as a body fell to the ground with a thump. Emma and Mary-Margaret hadn't heard the man, nor seen him.

Killian, upon seeing the man killed, glanced back at his companions, his ever-present smirk showing. He enjoyed his small victory for a short time, then began to walk again.

Unfortunately, Killian had assumed too quickly that the man was alone. Before he could react, another lost boy emerged from behind a tree and wacked him in the back of the head with a large rock.

When Killian came to, he was horrified to see Emma and Mary-Margaret fighting side-by-side against maybe a dozen boys, wielding the swords he had given them when they first arrived. And they were losing. Mary-Margaret was being overpowered by an older boy, while Emma was struggling to fend off another with her sword - which she was using quite skillfully, Killian noted.

He sat up, immediately regretting it as his head began to pound. He waited for the black spots to clear from his vision and made his way over to the two women.

Once he got steady on his feet, Killian was able to help them a great deal. He had killed two or three of them already, much to the relief of Emma and Mary-Margaret.

He was focused on another of the boys when out of the corner of his eye, Killian spotted Emma fall to the ground. He quickly turned to see if she was alright, and ran towards her.

"Emma!" He shouted, kneeling down next to her.

She was alright - Killian thanked whatever gods were listening - and had just gotten the wind knocked out of her. Emma sat up slowly, somewhat surprised at how concerned Hook was for her.  
She wanted to believe that he was different. She sincerely wanted to, and as she sat there, looking into his eyes, she failed to find a reason why he couldn't be. Nothing revealed that he was lying to her in any way, at least nothing she could see. He was right - all she had to do was trust him.

* * *

**Well, there you have it- Chapter 1. Like I said, fell free to leave some reviews and i will update ASAP! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, first off, I'm very sorry I couldn't get this up sooner. I will do much better in the future. Just believe me when I say I did have a genuine reason for this being late. Anyway, without further adieu, chapter 2. Holy crap I rhymed**

* * *

"You okay, love?" Killian asked as he gingerly helped Emma up.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, brushing his hand off her shoulder. Emma stood up, regaining her balance with Killian's eyes still locked on her.

The two of them reconnected with the rest of the world, and snapped back into fight-mode. To their relief, only two boys were left standing, with Mary-Margaret struggling to fend them off. As Killian and Emma jumped back in, it went much quicker, resulting in another one down. Soon enough, the group was victorious, and only then did it set in just what had happened. They had killed, or at least severely injured, over a dozen boys. Teenage boys, not much older than ... Emma didn't want to go there. She was overwhelmed with it all, forcing her to look away from the bodies strewn about.

Hook decided this was a good time to get back in touch with reality.

"There'll be more, there always are. We should head on, shall we?"

Emma and her mother, albeit surprised by Hook's sudden announcement, agreed, and began to walk yet again.

The plan was to regroup with the others back at the ship in a total of two days. Emma had become increasingly worried that they were not going to find Henry quickly, and that horrible part of herself that she tried her best to shut out kept saying that they never would. Hope was her only option now, as the three scoured this mysterious land.

Emma strayed behind the rest, leaving her with only her thoughts, a dangerous place to be for Emma Swan. To escape, she found herself watching Mary-Margaret and Hook walk along in front of her - not as boring as you would think. Apparently, you can figure out quite a lot about a person who thinks no one is watching. Even a person simply, well, walking.

The first thing she noticed about Hook was his stature. It wasn't fierce, nor commanding, not at all his normal presence. Inspecting his expression, she noticed the walls not showing that were definetly there before. He looked almost ... she could only describe it as hurt.

Suddenly Emma wanted to know why he looked so hurt. She wanted to know what had happened to make him that way, and who was responsible for that. She wanted to know what he was like before he was a tough pirate captain. She wanted to know the Killian Jones side of Captain Hook.

Eventually, the skies darkened into a deep red-orange, and the group set up a makeshift campsite for the night. It sure wasn't comfortable, but Emma guessed it could have been worse. It could have been raining, maybe?

Killian fashioned a shelter from a fallen tree and an old tarp they brought along. It was cozy (Killian didn't complain) , but it did the job, although no one slept for a while anyway. Everyone knew, but none wanted to talk. After what seemed like days, one by one they drifted off.

Emma opened her eyes to the sound of birdsong, a sound so sweet it almost covered up the aching pain in her back. Stretching out her arms as far as possible, she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes for a while. She turned to her side to see her mother still fast asleep, and next to her Killian.

_Wait._

_What?_

Emma darted her eyes around. She was the only one awake, she was sure of it.

No Killian. He wasn't there. He was just ... gone.

Emma frantically did a more thorough search of their small campsite, but no dice. He wasn't here. Emma knew he wouldn't have gone into the woods without telling her, not even so much as a note. He wouldn't have done that, she was positive.

So where was he?

* * *

**What's this? A cliffhanger? Oh, I'm so cruel. I promise to have an update sooner this time, and that it will be longer. Please leave reviews with tips, suggestions, spells, anything. I greatly appreciate all of them! And thanks for reading :)**


End file.
